Today is 2011 wedding invitation color trends day, and let me tell you, I had so much fun putting this together. I’ve organized my picks into separate palettes, keeping in line with the style trend predictions that I’ll be sharing tomorrow, so if you see a couple of the same colors repeated it’s because I felt that they worked well in multiple trend palettes.

I have to thank wedding color trend guru Michelle Mospens, who put together twofantastic wedding color trend boards for 2011. I’ve incorporated several of her color predictions into my trends ideas, and I’ve definitely made use of Pantone’s top 10 fashion + home 2011 spring color trends, too.

Honeysuckle + Tropical Hues

Pantone recently announced that honeysuckle, a warm pink, is their 2011 color of the year, and as someone who loves many shades of pink, I give it a big thumbs up. I’m so excited that honeysuckle is such a versatile color, too, pairing wonderfully with tropical hues like blue curacao, coral rose, chartreuse, and beeswax for tropical/destination, spring, and summer wedding invitations, and equally as well with neutrals like light charcoal and midnight for classic, upscale invites.

Gaga for Gray

Gray will continue to be a powerhouse neutral in 2011, and more taupe-y grays and grays with hints of brown will show up in ultra upscale, one and two-color letterpress wedding invitations. The growing trend in minimalist modern invitation designs will see shades of gray paired with muted shades in every color of the rainbow, from soft, barely there peachy pinks to bold colors like papaya. I have to admit that, though I’m a big fan of honeysuckle, it was love at first sight when I spotted the silver cloud/silver peony combo in Pantone’s 2011 spring palette.

Berry Lovely

Do purples and pinks really ever go out of style? Purple is the color of royalty, and with the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, I see many couples to be being drawn to the rich hue in 2011. Soft lavender and thistle look beautiful in one-color letterpress designs, and bolder shades are attention getting on their own or paired with the aforementioned gray, as well as navy blue. Pinks will also be in full force in 2011, and I see a trend toward peachy pinks like hibiscus, peacherine, deep peony, and the previously mentioned silver peony.

Vintage

The early 20th century (Art Nouveau and Art Deco) and mid-century will continue to be inspirational eras in 2011, and along with the growing style trends, we’ll see lots of muted palettes inspired by these eras. Minty teal and poppy is always a great choice for mid-century modern designs with a bit of whimsy, and muted navy, khaki gray, and poppy are wonderful for the growing trend in airmail-inspired designs. Black on white or cream makes a bold statement for vintage ephemera-inspired suites, while khaki gray and light leaf look wonderful in natural, Art Nouveau designs.

Nautical and Marine

2010 was the year of the nautical-inspired wedding invitation, and the trend will continue in a more subtle way in 2011, which means that we’ll be seeing a lot of “something blue”. Midnight and muted navy will stand on their own, particularly in letterpress designs, paired with a white or cream stock. Kelly green, moccasin, and khaki gray provide a lovely contrast and represent the earth, the sand, and the sun in beach and nautical-inspired designs.

Don’t Forget Metallics

Metallics were HUGE in all things stationery during the latter part of 2010, and I think that we’ll be seeing even more of them in 2011. Silver, gold, and warm copper will be showing up in both classic and unexpected ways, and shimmery shades will be incorporated in cardstock and envelopes, as well.

This week is 2011 wedding invitation trends week at Invitation Crush! I have a few trends posts with my predictions and opinions for what will be hot in wedding invitations in 2011 to finish out the year, and this first post is all about details.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve noticed that more couples are focusing on creating wedding suites that closely represent who they are as individuals and as a couple, and as a result, we’re seeing more unique, amazing designs than ever. In the past year, I’ve seen a growing trend in carrying this personalization through to envelopes, which, in the past, have literally been throwaway items. However, both designers and couples are increasingly using envelopes as a blank canvas for further personalization and creative expression. Coordinating modern and vintage stamp groupings, amazing custom calligraphy, letterpressed addresses and graphic elements, and bold wraparound address labels are taking wedding suites to a new level of beauty, and I see this trend continuing and being taken even further in the coming year.

It’s all about the details, and the trend in amazing wedding suite and reception details will continue to grow in 2011. Coordinating reception menus, personalized booklets/programs, cheatsheets/information sheets, and custom maps bring wonderful personality, whimsy, and interest, and they’re yet another example of couples’ increasing desire for personal, creative expression through their wedding invitations.

Postcards are an economical choice for RSVPs, save the dates and, increasingly, the wedding invitations themselves. As we continue on in bumpy economic times, I see couples increasingly using postcards to save on the budget, and in response to increasing demand, designers will be coming up with more brilliant and clever ways to share details in this smaller medium.

These fall/Thanksgiving-inspired wedding invitations were created by Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations for an inspiration shoot that was recently featured on Hostess with the Mostess, and I’m actually feeling a little giddy because I’m so completely taken with the persimmon and plum palette.

This invitation design is a real attention getter, with it’s unique, modern colors and ornate pattern and medallion graphics, which remind me of Middle Eastern or Indian architecture and pattern. And the ribbons connecting the different panels of the invite, as well as the green glass details, add a lovely, handmade touch.

Coordinating paper elements, like menus and tags, weave their way through this striking and inspirational photoshoot, and you can see many more details over at Hostess with the Mostess. The rich, plum fabric used for the tablerunner is divine!

I featured these lovely, vintage-inspired save the date cards from Hello Tenfold over on Paper Crave yesterday, but I’d be remiss in my duties as a hopelessly crushing invitation addict if I didn’t add them to my collection over here.

Ellie from Hello Tenfold was inspired by Art Nouveau designs and classic, vintage wedding style to create these soft and beautiful save the dates, which feature many gorgeous details, including a fantastic mix of vintage style fonts and a floral-embellished frame. This design is available in the Hello Tenfold shop as postcards or with envelopes and can be customized with your own colors and information. You can see the beautiful inspiration board for this lovely project over at Paper Crave.

One word about these invitations: texture. Oh, and elegant. And gorgeous. I guess that’s more than one word, huh? These custom letterpress wedding invitations for Hallie and Jonathan from Lucky Luxe are simply stunning, and the texture, wow, the texture. The letterpress printed florals on the invitation feature details so fine that I immediately thought of fingerprints, and the vintage blue and celadon color palette is so refined and elegant. I’m also gaga over the mix of traditional type with kraft paper on the letterpressed envelopes.

I spotted these gorgeous letterpress wedding invitations a little while back on the Flickr photostream of Chris Hannah, the groom and designer of the ultra modern, elegant invites, and it was crush at first sight. While I love bright, bold color in invitations, I’ve also discovered that I have a weakness for monochromatic designs, especially when they’re as well done as this. The white/grey duplex paper, the symbols that thread throughout the suite, the sophisticated script font – everything about these invitations is simply lovely. Letterpress printing was done by Blush, a fantastic UK based letterpress printing studio.

New Year’s Eve party invitations tend to be a bit trickier to find, especially in the independent invitation design shops, but I did some searching around and put together a stylish little collection of bubbly invites that would all be great choices for one of the most celebrated nights of the year.

These sweet fall harvest wedding invitations by Thoughtful Day bring to mind autumn leaves, warm apple cider, and all of the things that are so special about fall. The hand drawn illustrations remind me of mid-century children’s books, and the the typography enhances the whimsical feel of these lovely invitations, which came packaged in a screenprinted burlap sack for an extra harvest-y feel.

You can see more images from this autumn wedding over at 100 Layer Cake.

Designer Krista McCormick sent over these gorgeous green wedding invitations that she created for Laura and Doug, and the lovely shades of green and chartreuse that run through the suite and detail pieces were a perfect fit for the couple’s vintage-inspired outdoor wedding. Ornate floral illustrations, with the wedding date cleverly embedded within, and an upscale script font contribute to the fresh, elegant feel of the entire suite. Printing was done by Inviteink.

Oh, these fill-in invitations from Melbourne, Australia based Little Beehive are so incredibly adorable, aren’t they? The super cute baby shower and birthday party invites feature whimsical illustrations with a happy dose of mid-century style, and I can’t stop crushing over the cuteness! Oh, and while you’re visiting, be sure to check out the Little Beehive holiday cards, too. Love!